We are bicycle commuters in the city of Fort Wayne, Indiana. This is our effort to raise awareness of bicycle commuters, encourage more people to get on their bikes, and identify issues pertaining to those of us who use a bicycle for transportation.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

If everyone says it, is it true?

I was riding in the day after the first bit of our recent snow storm. I forget if it was Tuesday or Wednesday morning. We had received a few inches by then. The roads had not been cleared though. I actually don't have that much trouble riding in the snow since I ride in the tire tracks of the cars. I know that this annoys drivers that I am taking up a lane, but they'll get over it. I was heading east on Lake Ave from Crescent, chugging along. Traffic wasn't too heavy at 7:10 AM. (I try to leave earlier on bad weather days in order to further avoid car conflicts that tend to arise with heavier traffic.) A guy on Lake was digging his car out and must have seen my super duper headlight because I noticed from like 60 yards away that he had stopped what he was doing and was staring at me. As I got a little closer he yelled at me, "Dude...You are crazy!" I got bit closer and he repeated himself. Just in awe that I was on my bike. Then at the office, everyone from the custodial staff on up knows that I ride my bike. And one would think that after close to two years of using my bike as my car that you wouldn't even mention it to me but they still do. "You didn't ride your bike today, did you?" "I ride my bike everyday," I answer."You are crazy."Am I? I think not. But I do wonder about the mindset of those that think that I am crazy because I ride my bike. How long will it take for that kind of mindset to shift?

2 comments:

I wonder if the dude we saw in the Scott's parking lot gets the same. I don't think it will change until there are more of you guys out there. Then people will see that while you might be a little crazy, it can and is done!